Russia's increase in VAT to add 1.5 percentage points to inflation

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MOSCOW, June 14 (Reuters) - The Russian government’s proposal to increase the value-added tax (VAT) to 20 percent from the current 18 percent could add 1.5 percentage points to inflation, First Deputy Prime Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday.

Russian inflation next year is estimated at 4.0-4.5 percent if the proposal to increase the VAT rate comes into effect at the start of 2019, Siluanov added. (Reporting by Polina Nikolskaya and Andrey Ostroukh Writing by Katya Golubkova Editing by Gareth Jones)